Gas or Oil?

 Hi all,

I'm a homeowner on Long Island, NY.  My heating system is about 45 years
old now, so I guess it's finally time to replace it.

I've met with a couple of contractors already and I must say I'm still
not at all sure whether I want to go gas or oil.

Currently I have an oil system.  I'm in a 2500 sq foot house with 2
zones and there are 4 people in the house.  It's baseboard hot water
heat.  I have a 275 gallon oil tank that's about 7 years old and it's
inside the house.  I haven't had any problems with oil over the 6 years
I've been here and the oil company has serviced my account and system
very well.  

Since I'm replacing the whole system, I figure I might as well look at
converting to gas.  We have gas cooking and the gas meter is about 12
feet away from where the new boiler would be placed.  The gas contractor
installed my central A/C, so I'm pretty sure he'd service the gas boiler
properly as well.

I guess the first consideration would the price of the fuel.  The gas
people say natural gas is cheaper and the oil people say oil is cheaper.  
I'm locked in at $1.65 for the winter.  I think I timed it right before
it skyrocketed in October.  I think a 1 year cap price now is about
$2.10.  The gas company told me gas is at $1.72/therm.  How do I compare
the numbers to see which is cheaper?  What's the equation to figure that
out?  Is there any indication of which would be cheaper over time or are
there just too many variables and it's impossible to know which will be
cheaper 5 years from now?

The oil company suggested a Weil-McLain WTGO-4.  They didn't think that
I'd need a separate hot water heater.  I'm easily getting enough heat
now without out and with a new unit, I guess I'd get hot water a little
faster, but my needs might go up as the children get older.  

The gas company has conversion special for a Burnham Q205. The gas
contractor says that's what I'd need.

How would these boilers fit my needs based on the size of the house and
number of people?

With a 50 gallon hot water heater and removal of my oil tank, going to
gas is about $650 more than going with oil (without the hot water
heater). I think a hot water heater from the oil company was another
$1200 or so.  I only have to buy oil from the oil company for 1 year at
the standard cap price.  There's no long term commitment at a "posted"
rate.

I think that pretty much covers everything.  What are the pros and cons
that I should be weighing to make this decision?

Thanks in advance for all replies.

 

I recently compared my natural gas bills (92-04) with someone's memory
of gasoline prices, and found that both had gone up the same 230%.

With gas, you pay whatever you utility charges you, thus it is one less
thing to have to worry about, the oil market place, capping, timing,
etc.

What has the price of gas done over your billing history for the stove?

 

First of all, gas, oil and electricity are more or less tied to each other, so
you aren't going to see massive long term differences in equivalent pricing.

Electricity is always going to be the most expensive for a number of reasons,
including higher generation and distribution costs, as well as lower over all
efficiency (yes, people like to point out that electricity is 100% efficient in
the home, but conveniently ignore the rather large line loss involved in pushing
it as much as 2000 miles across the country).

Oil has the problem of a limited number of refineries in the US as well as the
tie to suppliers like OPEC. Any time one goes down for unexpected maintenance,
prices spike. I suspect (but haven't checked) that oil furnaces also lead gas in
emissions.

Natural gas used to be significantly cheaper than either of the above, but that
difference has narrowed as more gas fired generators and industrial users have
come on line.

I would still go gas as it avoids the hassle of dealing with potential tank
removal problems, leaks, as well as the refinery issues.

 


reasons,

efficient in

pushing

An "All Electric" house can be quite cost effective.  You have to have
electric service anyway and when you have, say, gas heat you pay the top
seasonal rates for both gas and electric.   With all electric you save
(directly and indirectly) the cost of bringing one more utility to your
property including stuff like reading the meters.

 On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 06:21:49 -0400, someone wrote:


Not in a heating climate (exception: people who have access to
artificially low below market electricity).  Fuel is burned to create
heat from which electricity is made (inefficient process).  The
electricity is then transmitted a long distance (somewhat inefficient
process).  At the house, it is converted back to heat (that part is
efficient).

If what you really need is the heat, is in inherently more efficient
to burn the fuel at your house.

-v.